Psychosocial correlates of depressive symptoms among 12–14‐year‐old Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

Background The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between various psychosocial factors and depressive symptoms in early adolescence.Methods A representative sample of 2465 12–14‐year‐old adolescents comprising 50.8% girls and 49.2% boys, with a mean age of 13.7 years, was recruited in two counties in Norway. The participation rate was 88.3%. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ).Results Correlations between the total sum of stressful events/daily hassles and the total sum of MFQ were moderately high, rs = 0.49 and rs = 0.53, respectively. Depressive symptoms were more strongly correlated with school‐related stress among boys than girls, whereas the correlation between daily hassles and depressive symptoms was higher for girls than boys. The results of univariate analyses showed significantly higher mean total MFQ scores among adolescents not living with both natural parents, those who had moved more than twice and those with more than 3 siblings or having fewer than 2 close friends. Further, adolescents from Third World societies and adopted adolescents, those from lower socio‐economic status (SES) groups, having unemployed parents or living in coastal areas had higher mean depressive symptom scores. The results of multiple regression analyses yielded the following six significant predictors of total MFQ scores in order of importance: Sum of daily hassles and sum of stressful life events, gender, number of friends, ethnicity and mother's employment status. Altogether, these variables accounted for 43% of the total variance in MFQ scores.Conclusions It is concluded that these psychosocial predictors should be addressed when assessing depressive symptoms in early adolescence. The findings of the study are discussed in view of previous research in the field and their clinical significance.